If you’re like most people, you know that arthritis causes pain, but you aren’t exactly sure why or how it can be treated. Too often, arthritis is accepted as a fact of getting older, but chiropractic can be an effective treatment for preventing and reducing symptoms.
When people talk about arthritis, they often mean osteoarthritis specifically. This condition causes the degradation and deterioration of joint cartilage and the underlying bones, leading to pain, stiffness and even disfiguration. Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint in the body, but it most commonly affects the knees, hips and spine. More than 32 million adults in the United States suffer from osteoarthritis, and it can have a significant impact on your overall health and wellbeing.
What causes osteoarthritis?
Let’s start by looking at bone and joint health generally. Joints are the places where two bones meet, and they are wrapped in tissue and filled with fluid. Our bodies have many different types of joints that move in specific ways: Spinal joints, for example, move forward, backward and rotate or twist, while hip joints allow for different types of movement.
When our joints are able to move through a full range of motion easily, the bones’ alignment is maintained. However, when alignment, range of motion or the process of breaking down and reabsorbing bones is off, our joints suffer from undue stress resulting in wear and tear.
With osteoarthritis, the fluid, tissue and joint cartilage get worn out. This further impedes and degrades joint motion and function. After a period of time, the body attempts to “correct” this imbalance by laying down “extra” bone where it typically wouldn’t be present. Instead of actually correcting the issue, these changes reduce joint function and mobility even more, causing pain and stiffness.
Osteoarthritis, Your Spine and Chiropractic
The master communication system of our bodies is housed in our spines. Proper functioning of the joints in our spines is essential for protecting and promoting the proper functioning of the nervous system. When we see osteoarthritis in the spine, we know that the spinal joints haven’t moved properly for some time. Although our chiropractors cannot reverse osteoarthritis, we can restore proper function, motion and alignment to the spine to slow the progression of the condition. Through regular adjustments and chiropractic treatments, we can improve joint function, alignment and range of motion.
If you’re experiencing osteoarthritis, we can help! Contact Forgey Chiropractic today to schedule your appointment to reduce symptoms and prevent further pain and stiffness.
